Bailey (pictured) figures to replace longtime closer Jonathan Papelbon at the back of Boston's bullpen in 2012. The 27-year-old right-hander posted a 3.24 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 37.1% ground ball rate in 41 2/3 innings in 2011 after recovering a forearm strain that sidelined him early on in the season. MLBTR projects a $3.5MM salary for Bailey in 2012. The two-time All-Star and 2009 AL Rookie of the Year is under team control through 2014.

Reddick, 24, posted a .280/.327/.457 line in 278 plate appearances for the Red Sox this past season. The left-handed hitter got his first extended shot at Major League pitching in 2011, after posting a .278/.332/.500 line in parts of five minor leagues seasons. Reddick has big league experience at all three outfield positions and figures to get the chance to play every day in Oakland. He's under team control through 2016 and won't be arbitration eligible until after the 2013 campaign.

Sweeney, 27 in February, played all three outfield positions for the Athletics in 2011, posting a .265/.346/.341 line in 299 plate appearances. He has experience in parts of six big league seasons and will remain under team control through 2013. Sweeney's career UZR/150 of 9.2 suggests he's an above-average defender, and his numbers in right field are particularly impressive. MLBTR projects a 2012 salary of $1.6MM for Sweeney through arbitration.

Sweeney's a left-handed hitter who has a solid career line of .296/.352/.402 against right-handed pitching. However, GM Ben Cherington may want to pair him with someone who can hit left-handers given his career .233/.306/.289 line against southpaws. Ryan Kalish and Darnell McDonald (.285/.348/.451 career line against lefties) are internal candidates for the Red Sox to consider and right-handed hitting free agents Ryan Spilborghs and Cody Ross could also be fits.

The Red Sox selected Head, now 20, in the 26th round of the 2009 draft. He has posted a .274/.351/.446 line in 861 minor league plate appearances over the course of the past three seasons, but has yet to reach Double-A. Alcantara, who recently turned 19, has a 2.72 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 as a starter in 125 2/3 minor league innings. However, he has just four appearances above Rookie Ball.

Both are good-not-great prospects at this point, but both have solid potential.

Despite what Olney is saying, Head is actually a 1B prospect (and if he makes the majors he will be an offensive minded 1B at that). But he does have a high power potential and solid all-around offensive potential.

Alcantara has three pitches that all have plus potential (Fastball, Slider, and Change), but all three still need refinement in control and consistency (he’s only 19 and came from the Dominican leagues). His FB sits in the low 90’s and can hit 95 currently but he is expected to put on a lot of weight and is expected to sit more around 95-96 once he matures.

Miles played 3b at HS and his size is not huge by any means. Have a feeling beane mad this deal with moving him back to the position, or with the way they “seem” to have been going about this off season and looking for young OF as well.

I can’t see the logic behind Reddick for Bailey, especially since Toronto and Tampa have two of the top three farm systems in baseball. Is Beane trying to tell everyone that Toronto and Tampa Bay didn’t have better talent than Reddick to go to Oakland in exchange for Bailey. Something is wrong with that picture and there must be a boatload of talent heading to the west coast that hasn’t been published yet, especially if Sweeney is also going to the Sox. Stay tuned tomorrow for the continuing saga of how to conduct a fire sale in Oakland, turning A’s into triple A expansion team.

Why would the Blue Jays be going after Bailey? They just got Santos from the White Sox. Can’t really see the Rays going after him either, but I suppose it’s possible. Doubt they’d give up as much as BOS did.

Just because you have one closer, it doesn’t mean you don’t pick up players that also have closing experience in a set-up role. Boston has Melancon who is a closer, but they also obtained Bailey, which means one of them has to be moved to set-up roles or they alternate closing games. lol.

I’m sure that AA did his due diligence to check on Bailey, but I’m betting the price was too high for AA’s liking, and he went on to get Santos. Molina for Santos was a much better deal, in talent and worth to TBJ, than this deal for Bailey is to Boston. Doesn’t mean AA is done, I just think Bailey was overpriced for what he wanted to pay.

Price is not the same to every team, CJ Wilson asked the Yankees 20+ millions, asked Texas for 19 millions, and signed for less. Hoyer asked the moon and the stars for Adrián González, but sold low to his former team (it was the best i would get, he said).

I’m sure that AA did his due diligence to check on Bailey, but I’m betting the price was too high for AA’s liking, and he went on to get Santos. Molina for Santos was a much better deal, in talent and worth to TBJ, than this deal for Bailey is to Boston. Doesn’t mean AA is done, I just think Bailey was overpriced for what he wanted to pay.

I can’t see the logic behind Reddick for Bailey, especially since Toronto and Tampa have two of the top three farm systems in baseball. Is Beane trying to tell everyone that Toronto and Tampa Bay didn’t have better talent than Reddick to go to Oakland in exchange for Bailey. Something is wrong with that picture and there must be a boatload of talent heading to the west coast that hasn’t been published yet, especially if Sweeney is also going to the Sox. Stay tuned tomorrow for the continuing saga of how to conduct a fire sale in Oakland, turning A’s into triple A expansion team.

I actually don’t hate this trade from Oakland’s perspective. Head and Alcantara are both fairly high risk (low minors and need refinements) but both have high ceilings. There is a high chance that neither makes it to their full potential but if either one of them does I think this trade looks like a win for the As (if both do it’s a slam dunk, but that is very, very unlikely).

1B is way more blocked in Boston than 3B is, what with Gonzalez there and all; if they thought there was even a little chance that he could stick at 3B they would have left him there, if only because he would be more valuable in a trade.

When they moved him to 1B in 2010 Vitek and Cecchini weren’t part of the equation at 3B, and Bogaerts still isn’t. There are plenty of places in the minors where they could reasonably put him and he could still play 3B if they thought he was at all able to. In fact, the very case of Vitek still being at 3B (and not in the outfield where he should/will be) shows that they like to stick with players at positions as long as possible, just in case. (they did the same with Fife, Wilson, Hazelbaker, etc.)

I don’t know where your “the regular Sox people here” comment comes from, but as someone who follows the prospects at least as much as the guys in the majors I can tell you that none of the Sox scouting guys, or the national scouting guys, think he is a 3B; in fact, average defense at 1B is considered the extent of his potential.

I take it will have to start writing in braille then, lest some of my left out, or not finished thoughts will be misconstrued and tossed back like this…

Guess you have not figured out by now, or don’t care that other people follow the minor league prospects also around here and know that Vitek *might* get moved to the outfield eventually, Bogaerts *might* get moved to 3B and as for Head? he went to 3B as far as my knowledge, because Vitek was going to be playing 3B for Greenville last season.

Now, without doing some cursory bow to your omnipotence here on the subject.. That was my understanding of it….

Wow, apparently I hit some sort of nerve. I don’t know what you’re so upset about, all I was trying to do was point out my perspective (and coincidentally the perspective of scouts who have seen him).

If Oakland really is going to give him a shot at 3B I don’t blame them, it can’t hurt, but the Sox moved him for more reason than just because there were other 3B prospects in the system. His defense wasn’t good there, and it’s not all that good at 1B either.

Look, I can give you the opinions of scouts if you want them: Newman at FG says “lack of range and foot work forced him over to first base,” Goldstein was asked if Head could transition back to 3B and said “Rarely optimistic on wrong way defensive spectrum moves,” and the guys at SoxProspects say of his defense at 1B “Choppy footwork at times and about average range [for a 1B]. Strong arm for a first baseman. Shows soft hands with improving glovework on balls in the dirt. Projects as average-to-solid-average defensively [at 1st] as long as his body doesn’t fill out too much.”

You don’t need to get all worked up just because I don’t agree with you though. At first I honestly thought you were talking about 3B being blocked at the majors, so I said 1B is more blocked than 3B; then when you told me that was wrong I thought you were saying the position was more overloaded in the minors, and now that is apparently wrong too, so now I’m honestly not sure what you were trying to say.

The ode to Billy Beane: We draft them, we groom them, we make them stars, and we trade them. The second verse is the same as the first. The triple A’s are never in contention and they’re never in first… place that is. Their home is in major league baseball, where the big boys come to play.

Think of it this way..Bailey is oft injured and had his worst season ever…The A’s are getting a good position player who can play all OF spots who will hit 280-20-25hr-80-90RBI every year…not a bad deal for both teams

Worst season ever’s a matter of debate, his peripherals were right in line with his career numbers. His BAbip normalized, for the most part and his GB% went down a bit, but still, good option as a closer (As I’m of the mind a lights out closer is overrated).

I do agree that the deal is actually good for both teams. I was pretty high on the Reddick thing as he’s obviously redundant for the Sox and I’m just glad we got as much as we did for him. I think your numbers are a bit generous, for him. He’s certainly CAPABLE of those kind of numbers, but it’s far from a given, he needs to work on his plate discipline to keep his BA and HR numbers up by avoiding pitchers’ exploiting his tendency to swing at stuff out of the zone and I’m still not convinced Oakland is the best fit for him, but he’s a great defender.

The Sox didn’t really give up much that they’re ever likely to use while the A’s got some good upside with some question marks attached.

If Reddick has 500 Abs of solid play with even some slight above average times in it he is a steal. Guy has a huge power ceiling, and is good on d. I would say this trade will be even if Bailey can stay healthy.

For some reason I’ve always had the impression that he isn’t thought of very highly though, even by the Sox, but I really want to see what he could do; no power but a good OBP, base stealing, and phenomenal defense.

My question exactly, who plays RF? I doubt they feel comfortable giving it to Kalish after he essentially missed all of last season. I would have to imagine they already have their eye on someone for RF, but I have no idea who.

With the news that Sweeney is part of the deal I’m thinking they start with a platoon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them increase an offer to Jones to be part of that platoon, start Kalish in AAA and consider bring him up in June if he looks ready.

With the news that Sweeney is part of the deal I’m thinking they start with a platoon. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them increase an offer to Jones to be part of that platoon, start Kalish in AAA and consider bring him up in June if he looks ready.

Why not? Toss in Brett Anderson also, he will be healthy soon enough. The Red Sox never seem to give up enough in these trades, Padres should of gotten a lot more for Gonzalez and A’s…I will wait for full details but good g-d this looks bad.

Both are in the lower levels so that’s one thing to know. Head is only 20 and has very good power potential and decent eye for the ball, could potentially be an above average first baseman. Alcantra was dominate in the rookie leagues but needs some secondary material.

Both are in the lower levels so that’s one thing to know. Head is only 20 and has very good power potential and decent eye for the ball, could potentially be an above average first baseman. Alcantra was dominate in the rookie leagues but needs some secondary material.

.457 SLG, .177 ISO in 2011
21.9 UZR/150 career (not a direct measure of speed, but obviously the kid can play D just fine)
18% K’s in 2011, hardly tons.
cant really comment on his draft report, but that was like 5 years ago. if he had no tools he wouldnt have made it this far.

some small sample sizes there, but i think you underestimate the possibility that reddick could be an above average RF.

He actually does have power and speed, and is an excellent defender. You were right on the strike zone management issues, but he’s likely to be an average RF, with the potential for more if he learns the strike zone a bit better.

He actually does have power and speed, and is an excellent defender. You were right on the strike zone management issues, but he’s likely to be an average RF, with the potential for more if he learns the strike zone a bit better.

Believe it or not, you aren’t the only one thinking that. A no pressure situation on a 1 year deal and he can try again next season. Might happen and people wont be worried that we will trade prospects for a closer in his case….

This trade can’t be like any of the previous fire sales. The A’s HAVE to get results, and we HAVE to set a foundation of young postion players as Green, Choice and Weeks move closer to stardom…but I did expect to recieve more in a Bailey deal…Hey Beane, the newcomers that will be in lineup better be able to score some runs! Can’t start another April-June with our team batting avg. under .230! Still, we’re 1-2 years from being serious contenders. THIS youth movement seems for real. Be patient, A’s fans!

This trade can’t be like any of the previous fire sales. The A’s HAVE to get results, and we HAVE to set a foundation of young postion players as Green, Choice and Weeks move closer to stardom…but I did expect to recieve more in a Bailey deal…Hey Beane, the newcomers that will be in lineup better be able to score some runs! Can’t start another April-June with our team batting avg. under .230! Still, we’re 1-2 years from being serious contenders. THIS youth movement seems for real. Be patient, A’s fans!

I was concerned that Bailey was going to end up costing the farm, but I love this deal for the Sox. Reddick could develop into an above average right fielder but that’s now Oakland’s issue. Head and Alacantra had some decent potential but still.

Because he was moved to 1B by the Sox because his defense at third wasn’t good, and he still only projects to be average defensively at 1B. I wouldn’t blame them for giving him a shot there (they need a 3B in a bad way, and it can’t hurt to try), but I wouldn’t put good odds on him being able to stay there. He’s a 1B, and an offensively minded one at that. (his range for one thing, is described as average for a 1B, which would be solidly below average for a 3B, and he’s got the potential to get bigger, and slower)

Pretty sure all they cared about was his glove. They’ll either make another move for a RFer, or let Kalish play. But with their offense, they’re looking for guys who can catch the ball, not necessarily hit it.

Seriously, how is Beane still employed? I have no horse in this race and even I can’t see where Oakland got any sort of fair return in this deal. Reddick is the lone highlight going to the A’s along with two players with marginal MLB “potential”. Meanwhile the Red Sox, who don’t really need any financial help, just landed a serviceable closer under team control through 2014.

Where’s the two-way parity here? Just because Beane and Co. want to move to San Jose doesn’t mean they should be allowed to drive a team and its farm into the ground just to force the move.

They got value for Gio, but the Nats were in a position to overpay, so it will likely work out.

Cahill and Breslow were shipped off for what will likely be about equal value, but only Cook pans out as a fireballer.

But even if these trades all work out, Oakland remains irrelevant for 3 more years.

Ugh. I hate it when business meddling interferes with competitive integrity.

As an A’s fan I think you are being a bit harsh on Beane. I don’t like this deal at all – reports were he turned down the deal the Padres got for Adams at the deadline – I would much prefer Erlin and Wieland. I think he did very well out of the Gonzalez deal tho and while I wasn’t that impressed with the overall Cahill package he did get Parker in the deal and Cahill does have some warts.

I don’t remember the Adams rumors, and its not a good thing if Beane turned down that deal, but Adams has been far more consistent than Bailey, and at this point is the better reliever. And is a better bet to stay healthy.

My friends live in San Jose. They’re all Giants fans and listen and watch Giant radio and tv. I live 2-3 hrs away in central Cal and I get both Giants and A’s games and I only watch A’s games depending on who they’re playing.

Moving to San Jose isn’t going to help us much as people think but moving will probably beat their current location.

This is all about positioning for the move to San Jose. they are shedding payroll and stocking the lower levels. sure, it may look like outright surrender in comparison to Anaheim and Texas, but the A’s are never going to be able to buy a free agent roster. Their best chance is to construct a competitive team in the lower ranks.

The A’s weren’t winning with Gio, Cahill, Bailey, Willingham, McCarthy, the whole crew. Even in an alternate reality where they had signed Albert Pujols and Carlos Beltran they still wouldn’t be competing with the Rangers.

The A’s had two options:
1. Stay adrift in mediocrity
2. Be terrible for a few years then get better.

Worst post ever. Beane traded an oft-injured closer and an overpaid scrapheap OFer whos career is probably over for an every OFer and two high upside teenagers. The more I think about this deal the more I think the A’s clearly won out here. Beane is really killing it this offseason, youre looking at a farm system that screams 2015 playoffs, not one being “run into the ground”.

A’s got some good talent to add to the farm that I think has a solid chance of becoming something and they got Reddick who is slight improvements away from being an above average RF’er. Sox got a closer and an immediate replacement for Reddick who we can now platoon with a righty like Jones who would prob kill at Fenway part time. Now maybe a couple depth signings and we are done. Finally!

True but it doesn’t have to be anyone front line. We just need a solid 5 starter. So ideally we go out and get someone like Bartolo Colon (My pick anyway) He appeared to be healthy and his peripherals were solid. Then maybe a couple depth starters on invites. Then we could field a nice staff looking like this.

Lester
Beckett
Buc
Bard (Could still be in the pen when season starts) Colon/Miller/Tazawa (I have a feeling he will be impressive somewhere)/Doubront

I think Doubront, Tazawa, and Bard will be options out of the pen or rotation coming into ST. Just a feeling though. Imho Tazawa could be a very
special player. He bounced back from injury with very decent numbers a year
removed from injury. He could do a lot better this coming season and make
himself a factor somewhere on the team, hopefully starting.

having said that, this trade isn’t as good for boston as it looks. head and alcantra are volatile prospects, but both could be productive regulars. reddick by himself should produce more value for oakland than bailey in boston

given the going rate for closers of bailey’s caliber, you have to like this deal for boston. but by no means is it a steal

It really is a crazy deal, at first glance you think Boston wins easily but when you factor in Bailey’s health, what a nonfactor Sweeney is and what Oakland got in return, it actually swings back in the A’s favor.

Yeah, I’d say it was still a little steep, but I was worried it was going to be a Middlebrooks-type of guy that would have to go.

I agree about the starters. I’m really annoyed that Ben hasn’t scooped up one of them yet. I guess Jackson could do, too, but I’, not a huge fan of him. If we can just get Aceves back into the pen by way of adding a starter I actually think we’ll have a pretty good club (up to right field). Definitely a club that has a reasonable playoff future in the AL East.

Ya take Thornton and blow 10 games a year and be in the same position ur be in. Obviously the sox could careless about the farm considering the moves they have made in the past two years for guys like gonzalez and such. If your in this state of play by spending money you jump on this trade because it cost nothing in perspective. You basically give us your 4ofer and a few wild cards for an insurance of 25+ saves and a sub 2 ERA. solid trade

Wow I don’t understand how Beane traded away Bailey when his trade value was (obviously) at his lowest point. There were a lot of closers available on the FA market and still has, why don’t you wait at the trade deadline or simply next year !? That’s a low sell in what could have been a much more better deal for OAK if Billy Beane would’ve been more patient.

yeah mitchell is out, but i think just for spring training and maybe a week or two at the beginning of the season.

i’d rather them just stay with internal options (including the guys they signed to minor league deals). money spent on guys like ludwick, drew, and fukudome should at least be saved until soler signs (whether it’s with the a’s or not)

Does an Oriole Fan have the authority to get Duquette fired? He didn’t even try for Bailey. Why? The Red Sox look like they got the better of the deal. Is Bailey still hurt or something? On paper it looks as if Beane gave it away on this one. I mean cripes Rizzo from the Nationals could have thrown in another prospect or something and gotten Bailey in addition to Gio Gonzalez!

Sincerely,
A Very Frustrated Oriole Fan

PS Dan Duquette: What the Hell are You Doing?

PSS I am going to the Cactus League this year for Spring Training, the O’s seem very determined to do nothing to improve a AAAA Team!

As an A’s fan I’m disappointed no Middlebrooks, but glad to be rid of the utterly useless Sweeney. Beane said “we arent selling jeans” but then he got a guy who was that exact mold of himself in Sweeney, or “Swingles” as he’s called by A’s fans.

Reddick is a massive upgrade over Sweeney, and the A’s have FDLS, Devine, Fuentes and Balfour who can vie for the closer role. The two youngsters are interesting enough, and Reddick over a full season in RF might be ok. Can’t really call this deal for 2 years when we find out what these youngsters can do.

I’m not so sure about Reddick being an upgrade over Sweeney. I think Sweeney might be a better defender, and we’ll see how changing from one extreme to the other as far as home ballparks effects their numbers. The one real advantage that Reddick has over Sweeney is that he is younger and under team control for longer. I think this is a pretty underwhelming return for Bailey.

LOL! you are completely insane if you think Sweeney is better than Reddick. Reddick has actual power and good D. Sweeney has broken knees and can only hit singles. Reddick is only 25 next year and might even end up as something that swings this deal in Oaklands favor.

I cant honestly believe anyone in their right mind wouldn’t think Reddick is a massive upgrade over ol Swingles. I’d say youre trolling but it doesnt come off that way. You need to go to fangraphs and take another look at how truly awful Sweeney is, I honestly think Boston might even release him and only took him on as salary relief. I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t in Boston by the end of 2012.

Reddick has potential to be a good pick up for the A’s. He’s got power potential and was pretty good in the field for the Sox. I never saw him as a future all star, more like a solid regular. If the hitting coaches in Oakland can get him to take a few more pitches and walk a little more often then he could be an above average right fielder.

You’re overrating Reddick a lot. Neither are very good players, but both can play defense. Reddick’s career minor league babip is .293. His babip last year in one of the more hitter-friendly parks in the majors was .318. It is hard to expect anything but regression and his plate discipline isn’t very good.
Reddick could easily put up a sub-.300 OBP in Oakland which is awful any way you spin it.

Well when you’re one of the only good bats in a terrible lineup, I think Reddick is going to get pitched around a lot more. I do expect a better OBP in Oakland, but I don’t expect him to hit for as much power as he did either.

Really dude, you are putting average BABIPs as the heart of your argument? 280-320 BABIPs dont make a point, thats whats expected of an average hitter, its Reddicks ISO is what makes him legit. Oh and Sweeney simply cant play defense anymore, why do you think he can? His knees are COMPLETELY shot and theres a great chance Boston cuts him before opening day. Reddick can run circles around him defensively in 2012.

How can you predict Reddicks OBP when hes never played a full season in Bostons crowded OF. Just give up, you made a mistake here. Reddick is semi-good and Sweeney is just terrible. End of story.

What exactly makes you think his knees are completely shot? Please leave references. He had surgery to clean them up last year and played the whole year without any serious incidents. Many times it takes well over a year to completely recover from knee surgery, so there is a chance that his mobility could actually improve.

The point of listing Reddick’s BABIP was to show that he had good luck on balls in play last year which is not likely to continue. In Oakland there is a good chance that his BABIP will nosedive. This combined with a poor walk rate (over several years in the minors and majors) is a formula for a low OBP. That is the heart of my argument.

You need to re-assess how you evaluate baseball players if you really think Sweeney is an awful player. His .340+ OBP would be useful on any team. At worst he is an average defensive outfielder who can play all three outfield positions. He would also greatly benefit from a platoon and would get the majority of the at bats in the platoon.

Bill James predicted that that Reddick and Sweeney will have nearly identical wOBAs, and that was with Reddick having a much greater home park advantage. I never said that Sweeney was better than Reddick, but I think it is fair to question whether Reddick is actually an upgrade over Sweeney.

The trade sounds good for the sox unless Reddick starts playing to the potential he is capable. Is a good closer worth as much as a posible right field all star. I hope Reddick does well for Oakland and Bailey fills the hole in the sox bull pen.

My hope is they go after Oswalt though I admit to fantasizing getting Garza cheap. My guess for right now is the Sox acquire another starter with ability to be a #3-#4 arm, convert Bard into a starter, leave Aceves in the pen while seeing him as the first replacement starter. I’d like them to sign Wake again to be in the pen and as another potential replacement starter. After that we have a couple of guys in the minors for quick emergencies and I expect Cherington to sign a couple of arms to be emergency back ups in AAA like every team does.

It’s not perfect and if two of Beckett, Les, and Buch go down for extended time then there will be panicking… But the Sox still had one of if not the best offense in baseball last year with the core returning and with the additions of Bailey and Melancon the pen looks potentially stable in the back end, so I’m not worried.

Oswalt is my preference too, Garza would be nice assuming they can get him reasonably, and I could also see a trade for Floyd, I wouldn’t be upset about Kuroda either on a short term deal.

Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, one of those guys, and Bard would be more than good enough to make them contenders considering the offense and the bullpen (which is actually looking really strong at this point, on paper at least).

there is noone to start for suzuki. recker and donaldson have little to no experience in the majors. and norris hasnt even played in AAA. so the possibility of suzuki being traded is not a real unless they get an mlb ready catcher in return. next year seems more likely that this will happen.

with the a’s not looking to compete for a few years, why not just give recker and donaldson the reigns until norris and ortiz are ready? they have decent pop and good patience, so i wouldn’t be against it

a lot of teams could use one of the best defensive catchers in the league.he definetly has about the same amount of value if not more than bailey. and if balfour has the same good year he had last year he’ll obtain value, as with mccarthy.

well, since the a’s aren’t looking to compete for the next few years, recker and donaldson (who both have decent pop and good patience at the plate) would be just filler while guys like max stassi and derek norris advance through the minors. so get whatever value you can from kurt suzuki

There must not have been many offers out there for Bailey. I’m more surprised they were willing to part with Sweeney as well who I see as a possible 200 hit guy who hasn’t been given an opportunity to start and walks a ton too while not striking out.

They must hold Reddick in high regard, that’s the only way this makes sense though Head actually has some impressive minor league numbers(OPS just under .900 last year.)

Why on earth would you see Sweeney as a 200 hit guy? He’s more of a candidate to be released than anything. He is terrible at baseball because all his value had to do with him playing fantastic defense and legging out singles, which he cant do anymore because his knees are totally shot.

Sweeney was only involved because he was due too much money for too small a result. This is why Beane won this deal, he made it look on the surface like he let Bailey go for not much, when he actually didnt.

Bailey can make Boston forget this though if he saves 40 games with a sub 2 ERA, which is entirely possible as well.

Hey guess what everyone: as of now Albert Pujols makes more money than the entire A’s team, who are at $23MM right now.

Also if anyone doesn’t see Sweeney’s involvement in this deal as being anything more than salary relief you are wrong. Im calling it now, Beane isnt letting Bailey go without Boston taking on Sweeney’s contract. The A’s now have the lowest payroll in MLB and a mountain of dough to throw at Soler or even Cespedes if they want to, which I see happening with Soler, not so much with Cespedes, although they can definitely afford both now…

Yes please to Soler. I’d steer clear of Cespedes honestly (his prime is now, not when the A’s will be good, and WTH 10 year deal).

Also: if any of the major SP FA aren’t signed by late January, I’d LOVE the A’s to throw money at them with the enticement of playing in a pitcher’s park that inflates everyone’s numbers and the potentiality of ending up on a definite contender midseason.

Agreed on all fronts, the a’s might be forced to spend some money, and maybe they could spend it on someone like edwin jackson (or a lesser version) who could use some build up in value to a 1 or 2 year deal.

that way, they could also let brad peacock refine his change up, sonny gray get some seasoning, and jarrod parker build up a little more stamina/arm strength (since he’s still not 100% recovered from tommy john) in AAA

Strongly agreed. Blows my mind no one is biting on Oswalt, he could be that Ben Sheets 1/10 guy again, and flipped for prospects. I can see Beane getting Harden and a guy like Zumaya for the pen next year too.

I’d also try hard right now to move McCarthy, Suzuki, Balfour and Fuentes for more prospects, and then start buying up pitching FA’s like you said.

Beane might end up with a top 3 farm by the end of 2012 if everything falls right.

I think this trade was even. I’m underwhelmed at it from the A’s side, but its justifiable from both sides.

First of all, you are NOT getting the Bailey that won ROY. You’re getting a guy who’s missed significant portions of the season with arm/elbow injuries, in addition to a back injury.

His K rates have dropped over a batter an inning since winning ROY while not also dropping BB rates, and has absurdly low BABIPs and absurdly high LOB%. And he hasn’t thrown a lot of innings the last two years.

Sweeney’s an injury-prone non-tender candidate who’s going to arbitration for his second year.

It’s a good trade for both sides, Bailey will be a strong arm out of the pen, but he’s very replaceable for the A’s.

Bailey isn’t too injury prone he basically had a strain in his arm that the a’s took a long precautionary time with and his oblique was a common sprain and strain. Sprains and strains are common among MLB pitchers and the body can only train so long before it breaks down. Bailey is a very strong addition and Sweeney is jus a great piece of the puzzle and a great player on any team. Jus his personality is genuine to a team.

If you look at it as Bailey not being the most healthy guy, and the closer market hitting the floor, Bailey for an everyday OF who can play all 3 spots is probably about even in the long run. Its when you look at it as the overpaid Sweeney for 2 high ceiling 20 year olds where you say “Dang Beane, you did a good one.”

Do you realize the difference between a playoff team that cant afford to make mistakes, and a sub-.500 team that can? I dont think you do. Reddick can absolutely play as much CF as possible in Oakland in 2012.

I understand perfectly. Replace the word could with the word should and you have a statement that works for a crappy team. Just because Reddick can play CF for a sub .500 team doesn’t mean he is a legitimate CF.

The Soxs need to get not a decent right fielder “Cody Ross” is on the Market or even get a better starter like good ole Roy Oswalt…. Im sad they traded Reddick but this will be a good move for both teams Reddick will get to play full time and we have a decent closer cant wait to see the season take place with all the talent we have Crawford, Gonzo, Youk, Pede, Elsburry great players lets get this season going

I’m a bit disappointed in this, as a Sox fan. I probably over-value Reddick, and still think Bard belongs in the closer role, though. Plus, I’m not high on Bailey. But if they were going to acquire a closer externally, better this than over-paying a free agent, I guess.

Ryan Sweeney for Josh Riddick, as a straight up trade, would be pretty even.

For reference, before Sweeney came up, John sickles rated him as a B.
John Sickles rated Riccick as a B-.

Bill james projects Sweeny to post a wOBA of .325 in 2012.

Bill james projects Reddick to post a wOBA of .331 in 2012.

Sweeney is a plus outfield defender.
Reddick is a plus outfield defender.

Riddick will make slightly less money and you can mine some other petty differences, but Riddick over Sweeney or vice-verse doesn’t add much net value for either team no matter how you spin it.

So that leaves Andrew Bailey.. a 2-time all star, former rookie of the year for WHO?

21) Miles Head, 1B, Grade C+: Ineffective in the New York-Penn
League in ’10, but something clicked last year, hit for power and
average in Low-A. Power carried forward to High-A but he’s got contact
issues to work out, and right-handed hitting first baseman have an
uphill battle. Could rank much higher next year.

23) Raul Alcantara, RHP, Grade C+: Live arm with good results in rookie ball, still refining his secondary pitches. High ceiling.

That is embarrassingly weak. These guys are roster stuffing. For Andrew Bailey, the A’s should have got at least a couple of guys who weren’t just complete long-odds gambles.

Man… what a farce. At least with the Cahill/Gonzalez trades you could hope that it wasn’t just all-out fire-sale. This trade just makes the A’s worse without any substantial gains in the short or long terms.

Worst of all, it makes the A’s look stupid, and ruins my off-season mojo. We’ll be eating crow for this trade for the next 3 years at least while we see Bailey closing games against us, and all we’ll have to show for it is Josh Riddick.

You are completely off-base in thinking Sweeney will even be with Boston on opening day. His knees are so destroyed his career is basically over at this point. Reddick is at least three times the player Sweeney is, and will out-WAR Bailey too. 19 year olds arent great things to try and predict, so these two arent worth talking about until after this year.

Billy Beane has this weird public perception where people hate him for having a rogue journalist write a book about him and he’s ok looking….you seem to be one of those people who dislike him and get off on him failing for these reasons. He never asked for Moneyball yet you hate him for it.

i step away for an hour or two and this happens? nevermind that jays were looking in on bailey, why wouldnt any team in the league go after bailey if this is all it took for boston to get him? the santos deal was good for toronto as AA snuck in there while other guys were preoccupied with other things. but this is a mind-F if i’ve ever seen one. how is it that boston got him so easily? i’m sure other teams inquired…is billy beane trying to get the gm job in boston a few years from now and sending his good players there ahead of time?

I’m willing to put money on the first word that comes to a large majority of peoples minds is “overrated”. Bailey went from being a mediocre low ceiling SP straight into being a dominant closer, there’s not a lot to it, yknow? Factoring in Bailey’s health issues and getting Boston to take the entirely worthless Sweeney which frees up more money to use elsewhere, I think Beane killed it, and getting two teenagers that Sickles said have high ceilings, as well as an everyday OFer who can play all 3 spots, I think Beane won here. Bailey will be solid if healthy for Boston, but that’s not a given. This trade looked underwhelming at first but after an hour it looks very good for Beane.

Closers are necessary for teams that expect to be in and win playoff games. When you consider the alternatives to Bailey were paying Paps of Madson $10M a year I’d say this was a great alternative for the price tag even factoring in the injury history.

I do think Reddick could be a good player under the right coaches. I don’t see him as an all star but as a the kind of guy you’d be happy enough to see patrolling right field for a while. But I really think Beane could have gotten a lot more from a lot of teams.

As for the prospects… let’s face it, if I came on this board and said the Sox have these 2 high ceiling prospects that can be thrown into a trade for Bailey you would have been part of a large group of people saying I know nothing. Neither of them would crack the top 10 of anyone’s top prospect list for the already deplete Sox farm. One is just graduating high A ball and one just left the rookie leagues. For the price tag I think Cherington made an excellent move and I think Beane should have gotten a lot more for Bailey.

i can see an argument for beane waiting for the trade deadline when teams are much more desperate for bullpen help, but it’s not as if he made an impulsive move here. he shopped bailey around and this was it apparently

Nah those guys are so young I wouldnt have said anything, they both are what they are: C+ Sickles prospects who are 19. I am pretty happy about adding them. I’d never hate on this package, but yeah I would prefer Middlebrooks or Cecchini…its looking at the big picture but Reddick was Bostons 4th best prospect before this year, an oft-injured Bailey is worth that.

I don’t think Bailey could have gotten more, if Beane’s goal was to get rid of Sweeney as well. Really stoked on that part.

No prob. You are one of the least troll-y posters here whos opinion I can actually think about. Id be with you if these guys were 22 but theyre so young and made Sickles list anyway, I cant hate. The market for closers hit bottom in between Nov and now so its as good as Beane could get.

people say the a’s are a triple a team. they have a strategy its not like they are just dumping their aces. they will likely suck for the next few years until the stadium comes. beane is working with what little money he is given with. he is a good gm. he has made some bad decisions with cargo and eithier but there is not a perfect gm.

its not up to the giants. these are just rumors. you obviously dont know what your talking about because the oakland mayor is pushing for a new stadium in oakland. i personally dont care where its built, but it will happen.

Sweeney and Reddick are nothing more than 4th OFers. Basically this was an all star closer for 2 low level prospects. The Red Sox have an average farm system and neither Head nor Alcantara ranked in their Top 20. (Yes Twenty)

Sweeney’s knees deteriorated in that time. He really doesnt have much of a future as an OF, or even in MLB. He cant hit anything but singles and even his obp took a hit thanks to his knees. I get the feeling MLBTR doesnt really understand how bad he is and how chronic his injuries are. His knees are straight up shot and it would not be suprising to see Boston cut him. This deal looks somewhat decent when its Bailey for Reddick & 2 C+ prospects AND salary relief with Sweeney.

As for the OBP/plate discipline thing, Carlos Gonzalez doesnt really have that either, and I think Reddick is a bootleg version of him, his value will lie in good defense and power.

Reddick is an easy starter on a team like Oakland (and a starter for a contender until someone better comes along), and if his plate discipline improves a little he’s an above average starter even on a contender, everything else is already there.

Hey no need to feel sorry, the A’s OF was non-existent until this deal. Now it looks like Reddick-Cowgill-Taylor, young and inexperienced. In fact I’m sure Beane will go grab someone like Damon or A. Jones or Ludwick to throw into the mix for a veteran presence.

The A’s traded an established Reddick (Sweeney) for Reddick. Then threw in an injury-plagued star for nothing. I guess they did so well for Gio that they didn’t want to seem too greedy. I’m glad, anyways, because the Red Sox should look at getting Michael Pineda from Seattle.

Pineda?? Now he would cost ALOT! I think the Sox should just sign a few veterans to minor league deals and see where that goes. Like the yankees last year. If that doesnt work out well then they can always acquire someone midseason.

When it was just Bailey for Reddick + prospects, I thought that it was a fairly even trade(depending on the prospects of course) but I don’t understand why the A’s would kick in Sweeney too and only get two wildly unproven, low level prospects. I liked the other two trades Beane made this season but I think the Red Sox clearly win this one. The last thing Oakland need is another 1B prospect who probably won’t reach his potential. Does this mean they’ve already given up on Chris Carter etc? I would’ve liked to have seen Beane get one great prospect rather than a good young RF and two long shots… just stinks of going after quantity over quality. Wouldn’t they have been better off just getting Middelbrooks for Bailey? Or Kalish and a prospect? Boston have got good prospects at the positions Oakland need… I just don’t understand why Oakland would settle for a pitcher and 1B… two things they have in abundance… when they could have gone after one of the Sox 3B or SS…

Red Sox have done great in rebuilding their bullpen without giving out a massive contract OR giving away any major pieces. Getting Melancon and Bailey to replace Papelbon is definitely a positive off season. They still need to get somebody who can produce in RF though, Kalish/Sweeney should be 4th outfielders for a team with serious WS aspirations.

Now it looks like they are proactively deleting his posts. I just received a response on a previous post from : “BIEBER FAN”. It was all caps again. I was going to respond but the link leads nowhere and I can’t find any posts by
“BIEBER FAN”.

Excellent job Tim and team. One of the reasons I love this site is it is a fun place to discuss and sometimes argue your point without having to put up with a lot of the nonsense you see on less-closely moderated boards.